SOLSC '24 Day Twelve: A dozen other things

 

It was hard, at first, to truly focus on what I was doing, where I was, who I was with.  There were a dozen other things on my mind:

• whether a book order was going to be dropped off at school with no one there
• the scheduling of a STAAR test the day after the upcoming eclipse
• the state of my house, in disarray, and a friend is due to visit
• gifts for said friend--where did I put them?
• where is my bright green purse?
• why do I keep clenching my teeth?
• am I going to have time to watch any movies this break?
• I've got to take pics and post stuff on Buy Nothing
• why did my packages get delivered just after we left the house?  Will they be there when we get home?
• I forgot to water the plants before we left
• I probably should have stayed home to clean and purge stuff
• packages need to be taped up and St Patty's Day cards filled out and mailed tomorrow!

But...after my second work-related comment as we drove up IH-35, my son not-so-gently reminded me that I am on SPRING BREAK, and we were on our way to have a FUN DAY in Waco.  And we did.  We

• listened to the radio and talked about music groups
• ate pizza at a new-to-us pizzeria just off the highway in Jarrell
• noticed out-of-state license plates on the eighteen-wheelers
• saw lots and lots of roadside bluebonnets
• spent a lot of time at a Half-Price Books outlet, and spent more money on books for my students than on books for us
• navigated our way to the Waco Riverwalk, parked, walked, and took lots of pictures of architecture, rowers, nature, and memorial statues
• tried to find a way to a burger place and couldn't find parking, so we drove a few blocks into downtown, parked, and walked to an antique store
• bought some books and old keys
• drove a bit more through downtown 
• made our way to Freddy's and ate fries and frozen custard
• listened to more music on the radio, and my son tolerated my singing along to "Bring Me to Life" and "Cheap Thrills", "Love is a Battlefield" and "I Think We're Alone Now"
• made it home in time to do our Duolingo and show dad/husband the pics from our trip

Today may be the only truly task-free day of Spring Break...and it was worth banishing the to-do list to the rest of the week.  Today we made memories, instead.